Epilogue: A Million Points of Light



[A/N: Okay guys, this is it, the end. Thanks to everyone who has read this far, especially anyone who has endured the epically long waits between chapters. Hope you enjoy this double posting. Also, thank you again to my wonderful beta, who is probably very sick of me bothering her about this fic by now.

Also, just so you know, I'm not even going to try and explain Matt going to Mars when he was supposed to go to the moon. There's just no way to make sense of that one (sorry TK, I can't explain away your mullet either, so don't expect to actually appear in this fic).]


Matt stared at the gathered horde in amazement. How had a group of a dozen crazy kids ended up with so many children of their own? Of course, some of them had a few more than others, he thought as he looked at Ken and his new little army.

He smiled to see all the kids playing, enjoying each other's company as if they had been best friends forever. Well, most of them. He had to laugh to see Takumi arguing with Kiyoshi, Tai's son. Though not as much as he had laughed upon seeing Kiyoshi's hair. Apparently both bad taste and personality clashes were hereditary.

"What are you laughing at?"

Matt turned to see Tai standing beside him and grinned. "Nothing, nothing at all."

Tai didn't look like he believed that, but he smiled back and let it slide. "It's great to see everyone; it's been too long."

"Yeah, it has," Matt said. Despite himself, he found his gaze drifting through the crowd until he found Sora. He let himself stare for a moment, as she talked with Mimi, before making himself look away.

"Are you doing okay?" Tai asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Matt said, "I'm great."

Tai raised an eyebrow at that. "If you say so. Anyway…can you believe how many people are here? How did the twelve of us multiply so much?"

They laughed together and continued catching up. Eventually though, Matt caught sight of someone else, someone he had been wanting to talk to since he first got the invitation for this reunion.

"Hey, Joe!"

Matt saw Joe turn around and smile, but the smile seemed…a little tense. "Hey there, Matt," he said. "How are you?"

"Pretty good, you?"

"Great. It's so nice to see everyone."

"Sure is." Matt took a deep breath. "Look, Joe, I just wanted to say thank you in person. For being there for Sora and for my kids, when I wasn't. It means a lot to me. So thank you."

Joe smiled again, this time looking much more relaxed. "It was no trouble, I'm just glad I could help."

"Yeah, I'm glad you could too."

Matt was going to say more, but at that moment he saw Sora again. This time, she was looking back at him. After a moment, she inclined her head, gesturing for him to come over. He looked over a Joe, only to find the other man had seen the exchange too. "Go on," Joe said. "And good luck."

Matt smiled. "Thanks, I'll probably need it."

He found her standing in the shade of a tree - close enough to still hear the kids and be available if needed, but far enough away so as to not be disturbed. He walked to stand in front of her, making sure not to get too close. In the years since they had separated – but never divorced – they hadn't talked face to face all that often. Not really talked. Being greeted at the door did not count in his books.

Even talking on the phone didn't quite count, somehow. There was a lack of intimacy – on the phone, he couldn't look into Sora's eyes and read the million emotions reflected in them. He didn't feel like he'd really seen her – or been seen by her – since even before the separation. Which was at least half the problem.

He waited silently for her to begin. He knew this conversation was going to follow her lead.

"You look good," she said eventually.

"Thanks, so do you."

"It's uh…" her voice trailed off.

Matt smiled. "It's good to see you too."

Sora laughed. "Look, Matt, I've been thinking. We've both come a long way in the few years. We've both changed and grown. Grown apart, mostly."

Matt couldn't move. This was it, he thought, his mind filled with dread. She was finally going to ask for a divorce. He had been hoping that – no, but it was foolish to hope that, after all these years, they might still have a chance. How naïve. He should have known better than that, after everything his family had gone through when he was growing up. His parents, the divorce, the separation of him and TK…

That at least he would not repeat. Not ever.

"Yamato?" Her voice brought him out of his dark cloud. He looked over at her and she was smiling.

"I think we should try again, see if we still might work. For the kids, for us."

Matt was still frozen, but now with disbelief. Was he really hearing this?

"And then, if it doesn't work now, at least we'll have closure. What do you think?"

Matt wanted to scream 'Hell yeah' to the skies. But that probably wouldn't have gone over that well. So instead he restrained himself and said, "That sounds great. The best solution for all of us."

Sora smiled. "Good. I really hope this works out. Because you know I love you."

"I know."

"Even when you're an idiot."

"I know, and thank god for that." They both laughed.

Matt looked over at his wife. "Want to head back now and see the trouble everyone's gotten into without us?"

"Sure," Sora said. "Let's go."

They headed away from the tree, back towards the sound and chaos of the party. As they were walking, Sora reached out and took Matt's hand. With that one action, the world seemed to get lighter.